Since I wrote my book in 2001, “Stepcoupling: Creating and Sustaining a Strong Marriage in Today’s Blended Family”, lot’s has happened! The five kids…his three and my two… are all grown with lives and families of their own. We have seven grandchildren, who add so much to our lives.
Years ago, when I was in the thick of it, I couldn’t imagine freedom…ever! Managing a fulltime stepfamily with five kids plus two cats and a dog was overwhelming. Throw in the issues with the exes and it was INSANE at times!
Fast forward…here we are well into our seventies with grandchildren graduating from Junior high and one facing college in a year. We’re still a stepcouple and always will be. Our lives are entwined with each other and with our kids and grandchildren. We’re just a big old stepfamily…and we like it that way! We don’t fight it anymore. We embrace it.
As a stepcouple, we hang out together, but we also have our separate friends and activities. In the near future, I’m going to visit a friend in Napa Valley while David goes on a bike ride with his friends. Both of us are looking forward to it.
We take care of each other and try to stay healthy. Yes, we snap at each other occasionally, but we always end up in our same comfy bed after 38 years!
Susan Wisdom, MA
Retired Licensed Counselor
June 23, 2014
Wow thanks so much for this resource! We have made a commitment to each other, to doing things little different this time, to making time for ourselves in our blended family. We have a little different situation, our spouses both lost to cancer (and just featured in the Huffington Post last Friday,http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/03/blended-family-advice-_n_5923338.html ), but we are embarking on a blended family adventure, too, and we need all the help and advice we can muster! Thanks for sharing, we look forward to tapping in to your experiences and expertise, and please please please feel free to comment on our situations that undoubtedly will arise, at http://brokentoblended.wordpress.com/
Thank you, Joe. Best of luck to you and your family!